DPA mics hide in Scarlett Johansson's T-shirt for Lucy

DPA Microphones d:screet 4060 miniature mics are capturing Scarlett Johansson's performance in Lucy, a French–American film directed by Luc Besson due for theatrical release later this month.

"During the filming of Lucy, it was important to take on board Besson's directing style," explains sound engineer Stéphane Bucher (pictured, below right, on set – photo: Jessica Forde), an internationally acclaimed engineer and owner of Paris-based rental company A4Audio, which supplies audio equipment to film and TV clients. "He is not the easiest person, but I was really happy to work with him. He shoots so fast and wants the actors ready to go when they come to set, because he already knows exactly what he wants. Once the actors are here, it is too late – you'll not have time to put a lavalier on anyone."

Accordingly, the film's costume designer, Olivier Beriot, devised a way of attaching the 4060s to Johansson's main costume. "Olivier is the best costume designer I have ever worked with, and I have huge respect for him," Bucher continues. "Scarlett's main costume was a white, half-translucent T-shirt, so we used a white d:screet 4060 microphone [...] inserted into the seam of the T-shirt by the dressmaker. We had three T-shirts ready at all times, and the solution worked perfectly, giving us great audio but without any visibility issues."

According to Bucher, the 4060s were "absolutely perfect" for the role. "d:screet 4060 microphones are very small, but that wasn't the reason why I chose to use them," he says. "It was all about their audio fidelity – when it comes to sound quality, DPA 4060s are much, much better than other lavalier mics on the market."

The design of any audio product has always been a compromise between user demands and physics. Microphones are the prime example of this but Danish miniatures specialist DPA has taken on the challenge to go smaller, as PSNEurope’s Kevin Hilton reports...